Bayou Noir

Bayou Noir

By Robin Lee Shelby

I remember the first time I caught a fish

It was in Bayou Noir

I was all of five at the time

When I wet my first fishing line

My father stood by my side

When I felt the line jerk

And then I pulled it out of the water

Of good old Bayou Noir

Through the years I did many things

But I always had time to fish with my father

Either in a boat or from the bank

Of the waters of Bayou Noir

But fate took me from that place

In the land of the good earth

And I saw many other climes

But my thoughts were of Bayou Noir

Then the sad day came about

When my father passed away

And we laid him in a grave

On the side of Bayou Noir

Wherever I go and whatever I do

I will always take the time

To remember the years I spent with my father

On the banks of Bayou Noir

You Never Knew

You Never Knew

By Robin Lee Shelby

The day they brought you home I cried

And many people wondered why

They did not know that I loved you

And my heart was breaking in two

You chose the path that you would take

I chose the way that I would make

I’d hoped some day to tell you true

How much I loved and adored you

So many things I’d hoped to see

But it was not meant to be

The winds of fate destroyed my plans

When they brought you home from Vietnam

You never knew how I felt

How in your arms I wanted to melt

When the skies were clear and blue

And I would cuddle next to you

In The Woods

In the Woods

By Robin Lee Shelby

Neath the weeds, layers of leaves

Wooden debris and mulch

Lay the path that we once trod

In the woods

Memories flow like water

Like it was before

But are no more

In the woods

Your hand in mine

I still feel

Warm and firm

In the woods

I fondly recall

That special day

We were joined

In the woods

Partings come

But I still sense

Your spirit

In the woods

Passages

Passages

By Robin Lee Shelby

Dedicated to those classmates and fellow alumni
who have passed on to a distant shore.....

There is a place that I know so well
Where waters converge in a gentle swell
There stand two great moss covered oaks
That mark the spot of our youth and hopes

O it was ever so lovely there
Neath the canopied greenery fare
Where many a childhood game was played
Lessons were learned and friendships made

The bayou flows on to the distant seas
As the years pass by it goes steadily
We stand witness to it's ebb and flow
Knowing that we too soon will go

The flowers that grow by the bayou side
Oft drop their petals in the flowing tide
And as they swirl and ripple away
We bid adieu to their passage each day

So as the wind rushes through the trees
The bayou flows to the distant seas
And as the petals float on their way
Childish things are soon put away

These are the passages of our days
Those things we knew in so many ways
Are soon departed in a solemn hour
To be replaced by other flowers

The passages of time are marked in many ways
Some count the hours, some the days
Spring turns to Summer and then to Fall
Followed by Winter - four seasons - passages all


Someday when the skies are so blue
 It will be our time to bid adieu
And join those who've gone before
To have a reunion on that distant shore


Our voices will then be added to the gentle breeze
That makes it's way to those great oak trees
And when the grey moss and the green leaves sway
You will know that our hopes are fulfilled this day.